Tag Archives: Asus

Good news Transformer owners! Asus has started rolling out the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update for the original Transformer (TF101).

Below is the official statement from Asus on Facebook -:

Asus had initially stated that it will update the Transformer to Ice Cream Sandwich in January. However, the company had to push back the update to February for some unknown reason. Last week, it looked like the company was again delaying the ICS update for the Transformer, but thankfully Asus has managed to prove us wrong.

The Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Transformer should bring in a noticeable improvement in the performance of the tablet, along with UI changes. The update is being rolled out via OTA, so a new software update notification should pop up on your Transformer sometime soon. The update is already live in the United States, and will go live in the United Kingdom from tomorrow.

With the Transformer’s ICS update rolling out, Asus is the only tablet manufacturer out there that has updated all its tablets to Ice Cream Sandwich. Motorola has only updated one variant of the XOOM to Ice Cream Sandwich, while Samsung is yet to update any of its tablets to Ice Cream Sandwich.

If you have root access on your Transformer, you can install the Ice Cream Sandwich update manually by following the instructions mentioned here.

True to its word, Asus has released the bootloader unlock tool for the hottest Android tablet available to the consumers right now, the Transformer Prime. The Transformer Prime was the successor to the original Transformer, and is also the world’s first tablet to ship to the public with a quad-core processor.

However, owners of brand new Prime tablets were in for a rude shock when they found out that the bootloader on the device has a 128bit-AES encrypted bootloader. A locked down bootloader on an Android handsets means no custom kernels, custom ROMs etc. The locked bootloader on the Prime led to Asus receiving a lot of negative publicity and also adversely affecting the tablet’s sale. Asus then released a statement to the public stating that it will be releasing an unlocked bootloader tool for the Prime sometime in February this year.

Like with all other bootloader unlocking tools provided by other Android device manufacturers, using the ‘Unlock Device app’ from Asus will void the warranty of your Prime. And no, re-locking the bootloader when you need to take the Prime to the service center won’t make your warranty valid again.

The Bootloader unlock tool from Asus will only work on Transformer Prime (TF201) running Ice Cream Sandwich. The said tool can be downloaded from here.

The Transformer Prime was released by Asus in late December last year, and has already got several software updates from the company. In fact, in recent time the Prime is the most updated Android device out there in the market, and that is in a good way.

Now, Asus has again started rolling out another software for the Prime, which apparently improves the battery life of the tablet. Other than this, Asus has not mentioned anything as to what the update changes, but Prime owners should expect the usual performance and stability enhancements. Quite a few Prime owners on XDA are reporting that this new update fixed the random reboots, improved the Wi-Fi performance and the battery life of the tablet noticeably for them. The update breaks root, so use Voodoo OTA Rootkeeper from the Market to preserve root access, after the update is installed.

The software update carries the version number 9.4.2.14, and should be available to all Prime owners effective immediately. The update is being rolled out only in the United States at the moment, so Prime owners in other region of the world might not see the update pop up on their tablet.

Bad news Asus Transformer owners! Asus has today announced via its Facebook page that it will be delaying the Ice Cream Sandwich update for the original Transformer. Asus had initially promised that it would be updating the Transformer to Ice Cream Sandwich sometime in February.

Below is the official statement from Asus -:

Dear fellow Asus members, we would like to say that we appreciate all the support we see in our Asus Facebook page every day. It makes our contributions worthwhile and fulfilling.

We are informed that the ICS upgrade for TF101 will be ready within the Feb/March 2012 period. You will be able to receive the upgrade notification via FOTA once we have a confirmation date.

We thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter

The statement above from Asus is quite vague, especially the time period in which the company will be rolling out the update. The company does not even mention as to why it has to push back the update, so it’s anyone guess at the moment!

I am assuming Asus delayed the OTA update, because it does not want users to face any stability issues like the Prime owners faced after updating their tablet to ICS.

Asus has again started rolling out a new software update – Build 9.4.2.12 – for its latest and greatest tablet, the Transformer Prime. The update is being rolled out for the Prime owners in the United States, and fixes the random reboot issue which many users faced after installing the Ice Cream Sandwich update.

Other than this, the update also improves the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth performance of the tablet. The update also includes a new Kernel, which should hopefully improve the overall performance and stability of the Prime.

Prime owners who are expecting this update to fix the poor GPS performance on their tablet, should really give up their hopes. Asus has already acknowledged the poor GPS performance on the Prime, due to a design over-look, and has removed the GPS feature from the official spec sheet of the tablet.

Asus will also start rolling out the Ice Cream Sandwich update for Prime owners from or after February 17th. Asus is perhaps the only Android tablet manufacturer, which not only prices its tablet decently, but also provides proper after-sales support by updating them to the latest version of Android.

Asus has announced via Twitter that it will be releasing the bootloader unlock tool for the Transformer Prime sometime in February. Asus had earlier confirmed that it will be releasing a bootloader unlock tool for the Prime, but did not exactly state when.

The ASUS Transformer Prime was one of the most anticipated tablets of 2011. The Prime was going to be the first tablet in the world to use a quad-core, technically five cores, processor – Tegra 3. Apart from the processor, the full aluminium body construction, the value for money the tablet offered, the screen and the developer support offered by the community, made the Prime truly desirable.

However, most of the Prime owners were in for a rude shock when they out that their tablet has a 128-bit encrypted bootloader. No one expected this move from Asus, considering the original Transformer came with an easily unlocked bootloader. After some negative criticism, Asus responded back saying it will be releasing a bootloader unlock tool for the Prime soon.

What companies like Asus and HTC need to realize is that developers don’t like to wait for an official tool/use an official tool to unlock their device bootloader. You need to ship it unlocked right from the factory. Quite a few developers have already shown cancelled their Prime purchase due to this.

The Asus Transformer Prime was easily one of the most anticipated tablets of 2011. It was the first ever quad-core tablet to be available to the general masses. Apart from the Tegra 3, Asus improved the Prime in nearly all departments compared to its predecessor- the Transformer – by including an 8MP rear camera, an IPS+ display – which is actually visible outdoors, better battery life, better performance, and an aluminium body.

The only thing it managed to worsen compared to the original Transformer is the GPS performance. Due to the aluminium construction on the Prime, the GPS chip inside the device struggles to communicate with the satellites in the space. The problem is actually because of a design flaw, and there is no way Asus can fix it now. The company has in fact, even updated the Prime’s official spec sheet to remove GPS from its list of features.

The company however is still trying to improve the GPS performance on the Prime by tweaking the software part. The company has started rolling out a new software update which aims at improving the GPS performance of the tablet. The update is being rolled out for Prime owners who are running either Ice Cream Sandwich or Honeycomb. Sadly, quite a few Prime owners did not notice any improvement in the GPS performance of the Prime after installing the update.

It will be launched in the second half of 2012, and will come with a 7-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. It will be powered by a Nvidia Tegra 3 quad core processor, and will presumably come with 1 GB of RAM. It comes with Wi-Fi connectivity only, and will be priced at just $249, making it a great alternative to the Kindle Fire or the Nook Tablet.

Despite having the distinction of being the first quad core tablet, it will be one of the most inexpensive Android Ice Cream Sandwich tablet around. We just hope it launches soon enough.

We expect it to have an 8 MP camera and 16 to 32 GB of internal storage. However, the exact specifications are yet to be revealed.

Last night at CES, Nvidia and Asus announced that they will start rolling out the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Transformer Prime beginning from today itself.

The Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Prime will bring it with a lot of new features including an improved performance and stability, enhanced web browser, and a few UI enhancements. This move from Asus makes it the first company and the Prime the first Android tablet to get updated Ice Cream Sandwich, beating Motorola (XOOM) and Samsung (Galaxy Tab). The company has also promised to update the original Transformer to Ice Cream Sandwich as soon as possible.

The update is being rolled out via OTA and only in the United States, so all Prime owners might not get the update immediately. Interested Prime owners can follow the instructions mentioned here on how to manually update their Prime to Ice Cream Sandwich. However, keep in mind that the method might not work for everybody since it depends on the SKU of your tablet.

Last week, Asus confirmed that it will be start rolling out the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for the Transformer Prime, which is the world’s first quad-core tablet, beginning from January 12th.

Now, the company has announced via its Facebook page that it will also be releasing the Ice Cream Sandwich update for the original Transformer as soon as possible after it starts rolling out the ICS Prime update.

Below is the official statement from Asus -:

ICS 4.0 will be coming to existing Eee Pad Transformer TF101. Exact date TBC but we are working on making the FOTA update available a.s.a.p. after Jan 12th launch with Prime TF201.

Looking at how things are going, Asus will become the first Android tablet manufacturer to update its tablets to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. All other ‘big’ manufacturers like Samsung and Motorola should learn a lesson or two from Asus, on how to quickly update their devices to the latest version of Android.